FC Barcelona will have to stage a comeback in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals against Atlético Madrid, and Hansi Flick is convinced his team are ready for the challenge.

In his post-match press conference following the 2-0 defeat at Spotify Camp Nou, the German coach insisted that despite losing, “we created very good chances ... They did very well, but we won’t give up."

 

"Of course we believe in ourselves. We did very well with ten men. It wasn’t easy to defend against them, but we had opportunities and we will have our chances. We are positive. We will give everything. We have a chance and we will go for it.”

His key point regarding today's game was that “they scored two goals because they have a lot of quality. In the build-up to the first goal, I think we should have defended better."

Controversial incidents

Flick also expressed frustration with the refereeing, particularly over a couple of controversial incidents: "The red card for Cubarsí could have been given or not. I’m not sure it was enough for a sending-off, because the ball was behind him."

"What did seem clear to me was the situation where Musso started the move and Pubill handled the ball. I don’t know why VAR didn’t intervene. It’s incredible. We all make mistakes, that’s normal, but then I don’t understand why we have VAR. It should be a penalty, a second yellow card and a sending-off.”

Even so, Flick insisted that “we have to accept it and now focus on next Tuesday’s match. We have the quality and the players to do it. We will fight until the end."

Força Barça